Lying and Smiling: Informational and Emotional Deception in Negotiation

Posted: 12 Feb 2007 Last revised: 6 Sep 2013

See all articles by Ingrid Smithey Fulmer

Ingrid Smithey Fulmer

Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations - New Brunswick

Bruce Barry

Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management

Date Written: April 1, 2007

Abstract

This study investigated attitudes toward the use of deception in negotiation, with particular attention to the distinction between deception regarding the informational elements of the interaction (e.g., lying about or misrepresenting needs or preferences) and deception about emotional elements (e.g., misrepresenting one's emotional state). We examined how individuals judge the relative ethical appropriateness of these alternative forms of deception, and how these judgments relate to negotiator performance and long-run reputation. Individuals viewed emotionally misleading tactics as more ethically appropriate to use in negotiation than informational deception. Approval of deception predicted negotiator performance in a negotiation simulation and also general reputation as a negotiator, but the nature of these relationships depended on the kind of deception involved.

Keywords: negotiation, ethics, deception, bargaining, emotion

Suggested Citation

Smithey Fulmer, Ingrid and Barry, Bruce, Lying and Smiling: Informational and Emotional Deception in Negotiation (April 1, 2007). Journal of Business Ethics, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=962518

Ingrid Smithey Fulmer (Contact Author)

Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations - New Brunswick ( email )

Piscataway, NJ 08854
United States

Bruce Barry

Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management ( email )

Nashville, TN 37203
United States

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